Shoe-polishing stand.



F. A. JOHNSON. SHOE POLISHING STAND. APPLIGATWN FILED DBO. 2s, 1908.

932,868, 'Patented Aug. 31, 1909.

@A Bm m FRANK A. JOHNSON, F MOOSIC, PENNSYLVANIA.

SIIOE-POLISHING STAND.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 33t, 1909,

Application led December 23, 1908. Serial No. 468,955.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK A. JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Moosic, in the county of Lackawanna and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Shoe-Polishing Stands, of which the following is a specification.

rlhis invention relates to new and useful improvements in shoe polishing stands and more particularly to an improved rest for supporting the shoes to be polished, the said rest having continuous single guide means at each side thereof for cooperation with the polishing cloth.

Devices having continuous single cloth guides at each side thereof have been heretofore employed, but in such devices it has been practically impossible with a single pair of cloth guides to polish the counter portion of the shoe for the reason that in reaching such counter portion the cloth is passed over the instep portion of the shoe, then over the guides and nally over the counter portion and the frictional resistance caused by the bearing of the cloth upon these several surfaces in diderent planes renders thc operation of polishing the counter portion difficult, laborious, and unsatisfactory. t is also impractical to polish the counter portion of a shoe in prior devices of the character stated on account of the further fact that the lacing devices or buttons provided on the instep portion of a shoe in time tear or split the cloth which is passed over the instep portion as a bearing surface, such cloth usually being of comparatively thin or flimsy material.

The object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a shoe polishing device of such construction that the counter and shank portions of the shoe may be polished as readily and as efliciently as the toe portion by the use of a single pair of cloth guides.

For the purpose of carrying out the above object, the invention resides more particularly in the provision of a novel form of rest, embodying spaced sole and heel supporting blocks, which rest is employed in conjunction with guides, which are in themselves of novel construction and which are assembled in a novel manner with respect to the supporting devices.

The invention aims as a further object to provide a shoe polishing device, which, while overcoming the disadvantages noted in prior constructions, does not sacrifice the essential advantages of simplicity, inexpensiveness and strength.

The structural details of the present iniprovement will be set forth at length in the following description, which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein is illustrated a preferred and advantageous embodiment of theinvention.

In the said drawings: Figure l is a top plan view of a shoe polishing device constructed in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is a detailed perspective view illustrating the manner of using the device, and Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view of the device, taken in a plane as through the instep portion of a shoe and further illustrating the manner of use.

The base l upon which the supporting blocks and the guides are mounted, may be employed by itself or in conjunction with a suitable support. rlhe rear block, indicated by the numeral 2, supports the heel of the shoe and is arranged at the rear end of the base l, while the front block, asv 3, supports the sole of the slice and is arranged a short distance from the front end of the base. The blocks 2 and 3 are arranged in spaced relation, the space between said blocks being indicated by the numeral 4 and being under the shank portion of the shoe when the device is invuse.

it is preferred to construct the blocks with beveled and pointed end faces, as 2a and 8a, respectively, to conform to the general outline of the adjacent portions of the guides of which two, one located at each side of the base, are employed. The beveled face 3a is of further advantage in that it allows of the polishing strip being passed freely under the shoe and over the block 3 in .changing the strip from toe to shank and vice versa. The beveled face 9jL is'of advantage in that by itsprovision, all points or sharp edges upon which the polishing strip might otherwise catch and wear, are eliminated. rFhe guides are of similar' construction and are indicated by the numeral 5. Each guide comprises a section of strong and comparatively stiff wire having downturned` end portions, as G, whichr are engaged in the base l,

and thereby serve as fastening devices. The downturned portions 6 also serve to hold the guides spaced from thebase, and in a plane slightly below the plane of the upper surface of the block 3. Each guide is also of substant-ial ogee curvature, and accordingly comprises oppositely curved front and rear portions, as 7 and 8, respectively. The front portions T are materially longer/than the rear portions 8 and are substantially concentric to the block 3, adjacent which they are disposed in spaced relation. Said front portions converge toward one another at their ends. The rear portions 8 extend from the rear ends of the front portion in divergent relation and in addition, are also inclined rearwardly and upwardly, as shown in Figs. 2 and 8, for ay purpose to be later described. rlhe portions T at their rear ends project into the space et, that is to say, they intersect the planes of the sides of the blocks 2 and 3, and the portions 8 are disposed wholly in the space between said blocks. This arrangement is employed for the reason that the portions 8 are used as guides for the cloth in polishing the shank or counter portion of the shoe and it is preferred, in order to obtain the best results, to so locate the portions 8 with respect to the blocks, that said portions will be under thelshank ot' the shoe when the device is in use. It will be observed that the portions 7 have their convergent front portions extended along' straight axes, such straight portions being indicated at 7 and serving as guides for the cloth in the operation of polishing the toe of the shoe.

ln use, the shoe is placed in the manner shown in Fig. 3, the heel resting on the block and the sole resting on the block 3. In polishing the toe portion of the shoe, the polishing cloth, as 9, 1s passed over said toe por- Y tion and then under the straight guide portions 7 at each side of the block 3. rlhe ends of the cloth are then grasped and the cloth is reciproeated in a well known manner. .fissuming that it is desired to polish the shank, the cloth is drawn forwardly so that its web leaves the toe ot the shoe; the sole of the shoe is then lifted and the cloth is passed underneath the same until it engages in the inversely curved ,substantially U-shaped portions Sa of the guides formed at the junction of the portions 7 and 8 under the shank of the shoe, as shown in Fig. 3. lVhen the cloth is in this position, it may be readily manipulated, by virtue of the peculiar curved form of the guides, at the junction of their front and rear portions, to effectively polish the shank. The counter portion remains to be polished and this is accomplished by passing` one of the projecting portions of the cloth over the said counter portion and reciprocating the same in the manner set forth. Or .if desired, the arr; ,ngement permits of simultaneously polishing one side of the shank with one projecting port-ion and of the counter with the other, the projecting portions being reversed for polishing the other sides of the shank and of the counter. The portions 8, by virtue of their rearward and upward inclination, are effective in preventing the undue formation of longitudinal creases or wrinkles in the polishing cloth, their inclination being in a direction perpendicular to the line of movement of the cloth in polishing the shank, and their form promoting the movement of the cloth over the counter. Aside from this use, the portions 8 form, with the adjacent downturned portions G, shoulders, as S', disposed adjacent the front end of the heel block 2 and which serve etliciently as stops, engaging the heel of the shoe to prevent accidental forward movement or displacement thereof. It will thus be seen that the guides 5 afford the only surfaces which can offer frictional resistance to the movement of the cloth, aside from the surface which is being polished, and this resistance is very slight in any position of the cloth. ln the structures ordinarily employed, however, in the operation of counter polishing, the cloth, in addition to being passed over the guides and thekcounter portion, is also passed over the instep portion, which offers such a great degree of frictional resistance as to render the counter polishing operation laborious and unsatisfactory, and in addition tears and splits the cloth, as previously stated.

The invention has the same advantages of simplicity and inexpensiveness as prior constructions, in that it embodies the same small number of essential parts, constructed of the same material, namely, the wooden supporting blocks and the wire guides.

Having fully described my invention, I claim:

l. A shoe polishing device comprising a suitable base, and spaced supporting blocks thereon, said base having cloth guiding means associated therewith in the space between said supporting blocks.

2. A shoe polishing' device comprising a, suitable base, spaced supporting blocks thereon and guide means arranged at each side of the base and extending continuously, said guide means each having a portion thereof disposed in the space between the supporting blocks and having` also ay portion thereof adjacent the side of the front block.

A shoe polishing device comprising a suitable base, spaced supporting blocks thereon, and wire guides of ogee curvature located at each side of the base and having portions substantially concentric to the front block with their rear end portions intersecting the planes of the sides of the blocks, projecting into the space therebetween and terminating in divergent rearwardly projecting guide portions disposed in the space between said blocks.

i. A shoe polishing device comprising a suitable base, spaced supporting blocks thereon7 and wire guides of ogee curvature located at each side of the base and having portions substantially concentric to the front block with their rear end portions intersecting the planes of the sides of the blocks, projecting` 10 into the space therebetween and terminating my hand in presence of two subscribingwitl5 nesses.

FRANK A. JOHNSON. lVitnesses EDGAR A. JONES, CHAs. L. ROBERTSON. 

